Tag Archives: religious tolerance

One of the most wonderful news stories that I was so happy to hear over the last two years was that of Urban Prep Academy in Chicago. It is the only 100% African-American male charter high school in Chicago and the entire country. It also has had a 100% college acceptance rate for it’s senior class for the last three years. There has been no shortage of coverage, accolades and pride for these young men in the media and the community, in fact, here are some of the headlines:

Big Things Poppin’ at Urban Prep Academy: 100% of Their Men Heading to College – YourBlackWorld.net

Governor Pat Quinn (D) of Illinois shared this tweet expressing his excitement for Jarrett’s acceptance into his own Alma Mater on March 30th 2012 and rightfully so:

In an article just before the 2012 Urban Prep Academy graduation in the Milwaukee Courier, Jarrett Roby shared this:

“I have lived on both the West Side and South Sides of Chicago. I chose Urban Prep because the news of the two previous graduating classes having 100 percent college acceptance rate was impressive,” says Jarrett.

He adds that before he came to Urban Prep, he had good self-esteem. “But Urban Prep challenged me to pursue excellence which has caused my self-esteem to increase. Urban Prep has inspired me to rise above and beyond all negative stereotypes and statistics that society has for young Black males.

Like JaBrice (Reese a classmate of Jarrett’s), Jarrett’s favorite subject at the academy is also African American History. “In my Honors African American History class, I am constantly learning surprising information about my race. The class provokes stimulating debates which in our teams cultivates and inspires outspoken individuals and independent thinkers.

The 18-year-old plans to attend Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He is considering a major in Biology so as to be a “competitive applicant” when he applies to medical school.

“My short term goal is to become an emergency room physician or general surgeon. My long term career goal is a leadership position in the United States government.”

There are plenty more where that came from however, actually, I digress. Not very long ago (June 16th 2012) Jarrett Roby, who was also student body president, not only graduated with honors but was accepted to prestigious Georgetown University and received a full scholarship. He was also selected to participate in the Georgetown University Community Scholars program which according to their website is not only “The Soul of Georgetown” but also:

“The Community Scholars Program provides Georgetown students with the unique opportunity to thrive. Scholars are carefully selected during the admissions process based on their academic achievement, impressive co-curricular accomplishments, and commitment to the transformative power of education. They typically represent diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, and are often first generation college students.”

The Community Scholars program is sponsored by “The Center for Multicultural Equity & Access (CMEA). Their mission statement is here. My fellow conservative blogger and radio host Kira Davis of CDN network’s show “The Dark Side” and I simultaneously received some news tips and disturbing information this evening. She and I both were very shocked, angered and saddened to learn that this promising student, Jarrett Roby, future surgeon and physician was given the boot from this program because of his refusal to attend a workshop on “tolerance” of the LGBT community and “people who are different”. To be clear, Jarrett Roby was suspended from the summer enrichment program – Community Scholars, not Georgetown University in the Fall. We received this disturbing news today from a source (who shall remain anonymous) whose eye/earwitness account was this regarding recent disturbing events at this summer program for selected Georgetown students who will matriculate the school this Fall:

“I am here at Georgetown University through a program hosted by the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access called the Community Scholars Program. The program focuses on assisting underprivileged students attain a college education, and therefore they allow us to attend a five week intensive program that immerses us in two classes, and we get priority registration. The program is great overall and has great intentions, but today and over the past week they got out of hand.

It was brought to our attention that the program was requiring us to attend a workshop that essentially pushed for LGBTQ** Rights and “Tolerance” for people who are different than we are. I did not feel comfortable attending such a workshop, so I spoke to the Resident Director and the Assistant Program Coordinator. They both told me that I had to attend and that if I did not attend I would be subject to disciplinary action. A lot of people were not comfortable attending, but because they threatened us with disciplinary action, many just went along.

I finally spoke to the Program Director who then was the nail in the coffin in stating that if I did not attend I would be subject to disciplinary action. An individual who also felt the same as I did decided not to attend and he was expelled and suspended from the program. They even had the Georgetown Police (Department of Public Safety) escort him out. He refused to attend the workshop from the beginning, and we both felt uncomfortable but they refused to respect our ideas. I just went along with the flow, but I was uncomfortable. The other student was expelled from the program because of his religious and political beliefs.”

**LGBTQ=Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning people (people who are questioning their sexuality/gender)

Kira took the liberty of uploading this exclusive video which we received (from an source we will not name) exposes a small portion of this “tolerance” workshop. Here it is:

According to a second source (who shall also remain anonymous) that student was none other than Mr. Jarrett Roby, who according to his profile on a social media site is a “disciple of Christ”. According to that source it is he whom the CMEA had thrown out by the Georgetown police because of his religious beliefs! How ironic is that? He refused to attend a class on “tolerance”of the LGBTQ community rights and “those different than we are” and those who were attempting to coerce him to take the workshop showed him zero tolerance for his faith. It seems as though those persons are the ones needing the tolerance workshop. What is even more shocking is that this would occur on the campus of Georgetown University – the oldest Jesuit and Catholic university in the country.

So what is next – will an atheist be forced to take a workshop on theology or “religious tolerance”? Will a vegetarian be required to eat meat or take a class on butchering a pig? I have to also wonder if in this “tolerance workshop” members of the LGBTQ community were taught to tolerate those of us who exercise our first amendment right to practice the religion of our choice and adhere to it’s practices. You see, contrary to liberal media portrayal, it’s not that Christians (or members of any religion which prohibits homosexual lifestyles) are “intolerant” of the LGBTQ community, for we dislike the sin of homosexual lifestyles but most certainly not homosexuals themselves. In fact, in my blog Conservative Calmversation, I dealt with the issue of unequal sin condemnation among Christians here. I had the pleasure of communicating with Jarrett via social media and confirmed this story and he explained how this situation unfolded. Here is what he shared in his own words:

Me: “How are you Jarrett? My name is Talitha McEachin I’m a writer/blogger for several conservative political sites including CainTV , KiraDavis.net and other sites. I heard about your dismissal from the summer program at GU because of the “Gay tolerance”class and as a Christian & Conservative it makes me VERY upset that they would trample all over your beliefs & force you to take a class (well try to. I’m writing an article about it now). Can you tell me what happened? What made you decide to stand your ground rather than just taking the class in order to stay in the program.”

JR: “Hello. Thank you for contacting me. I am doing well. I’m just greatly saddened about the situation. Officially, the program directors will say I was dismissed from the program because I left 3 of the Ra’s {Resident Advisers} feeling physically threatened. However I never mentioned anything remotely violent or did anything violent. Also I am confident that all of my peers would support the fact that I have never showed an ounce of violence and any such claims are flawed. The directors of the program who dismissed me said that their reasoning may not be fair, but they were not going to ask for a general consensus of me.

Considering this, I believe I was asked to leave the program because I took a conservative stand against a liberal ideology and liberal group of people who are in charge of the program. Every scholar apart of the program was signed up for an LGBTQ seminar for Monday (July 23). My friend, _____________, and I decided this was a seminar we would not attend. I am a devout Christian so I have no animosity in my heart toward any man whether he is gay or straight. I am required to love all people and I try my best to do so. I have no problems with homosexuals because it is the natural and God given right to be with whom they want to be with (Freewill). I do not support Gay rights, but as a supporter of the US constitution I do tolerate them.

Because I have an established view point on LGBTQ I did not think it was necessary for me to go to the seminar. I approached a RA privately with my appeal on Sunday and it was automatically shut down and I was told I could expect to be written up if I did not go to the seminar. I held my peace and persisted with the idea of not going. Later that night other students got wind that ____ and I were not planning on going to the seminar. We were automatically attacked and deemed “closed-minded” and “ignorant”. In the mist of this rising confrontation I began to speak up to try and explain to other scholars how I was not trying to be intolerant. During this discussion the same three RAs that decided that they felt physically threaten tried to stop the conversation and send everyone to their rooms before the established curfew.

I once again spoke up in protest of the early curfew and with an appeal that everyone calms down and back off. As the intensity died down it was clear that the RAs had personal biases toward LGBTQ and were against anyone who spoke against it. I heard the RAs say negative things about me but I didn’t respond because once everything died down it was curfew and I did not want to turn a political debate into and emotional onslaught.

The next day I was called in by the program directors and told my actions during the informal debate had reassured the RAs feeling of being threatened. I was told that there had been a meeting with the RA’s and it was decided that I could not stay because 3 RAs were scared for the safety. I believe a true injustice was done to me. I am not looking for revenge, but I am trying to help stop injustice.”

Folks, this young (18 years old) Christian Conservative man has stood his ground for the biblical principles he holds dear and for that I applaud him. What he is saying is that by virtue of accepting Christ and adhering to the teachings of Christ, he is already tolerant of not only the LGBTQ community but all others “different than him”. The interesting thing is that on the website description of the workshop there is no information regarding this workshop as a part of the program, however, to be fair, Jarrett says he learned of this workshop when he arrived on campus for the program as it was in his itinerary:

Me: Did you express your concern about attending to anyone early on?

JR: No, I did not express my concern about attending early on. I felt like the problem would best be solved near the date and I thought I’d easily be excused from this workshop if I expressed concern based on my religious faith.

Me: Did they tell you you’d be disciplined or possibly kicked out for not attending this workshop early on at the start of the program or was that included in your written itinerary?

JR: They told us that we could receive disciplinary action of we missed some on the itinerary. But I definitely thought I could make an appeal for the LGBTQ seminar because of personal views if I didn’t attend.

Me: Did they give you a reason why you needed this workshop or explain why it was required? After all, Georgetown is a Catholic university.

JR: No, not at all.

Me: Now that you have read the account of the other witness whom I cannot name, is their version of events accurate in your opinion?

JR: Yes that account is accurate. It’s just a broader version of events.

Me: How has this affected your excitement about attending GU in the Fall? Do you think the CS program represents Georgetown’s core values? After all it’s a religious based university.

JR:I Think Georgetown is a great school. I think the CS program is a good program just misguided and biased in some of their approaches. I’m still looking forward to attending GU in the fall and I trust that it will be a good experience.

I want to thank Jarrett Roby for sharing his story with me. I also applaud him for not only sticking to his guns but being so gracious and appreciative for his upcoming Georgetown education. Unfortunately his story (the general discrimination assuming all testimonies are accurate) is one that has become all too familiar. In our society’s efforts to secure rights and tolerance for the LGBTQ community (which I don’t disagree with, they should not be discriminated against), we have begun trampling over the rights of those who do not support such lifestyles based on their religion. He simply did not want to participate in a class that is an effort to inculcate and indoctrinate the homosexual lifestyle acceptance agenda which is contrary to his faith and neither would I. Can you imagine, that at a prominent Catholic University, a young black Christian Conservative is thrown out of a summer program for minority scholars because of his refusal to be subjected to teachings contrary to his religious faith? Shame on the CMEA and Georgetown University! Newsflash CMEA and Georgetown University: Jarrett, myself and millions of other Christians are already as tolerant as we need to be by extending the love of Christ to anyone regardless of their background, age, sexual orientation, race, gender, nationality and a host of other categories.

Jarrett is a perfect example of how to stand your ground amid liberal attempts to make homosexual lifestyles normative and mainstream. If this is any indication of how he will grow and mature as a college student, then perhaps he or others like him will be the first fiscally and socially responsible black president. How is it that Jarrett, an 18 year old college student and a Christian, can refuse to give in to the liberal homosexual agenda yet Barack Obama, 50 years old and another self-professed Christian, caves under the pressure of the LGBTQ community on same sex marriage. Jarrett needs to have a courage workshop and Barack Obama needs to be required to attend it. You don’t have to succumb to the homosexual lifestyle agenda in order to respect them as human beings and treat them fairly. The homosexual members of my family know that I love them but they also know that I mean business when I say that based on my faith I abhor their lifestyle choice. I don’t need to be taught to tolerate their lifestyle because my faith says that all that I have to do is love them. The very fact that this workshop, which is not academic in nature, is being required under the threat of disciplinary action, demonstrates in and of itself a lack of tolerance on the part of those over the program – the very principle they are trying to teach. I have no problem with a voluntary workshop of this nature but coercion never produces tolerance, only resentment and perhaps even intolerance.

What also is very striking is that as per Jarrett’s account and that of the witnesses, these three resident advisers felt “physically threatened” by this young scholar, so much so that they utilized the Georgetown Police to remove him from the premises. Since liberals are so great at detecting “coded language” here’s a translation we all can agree with <sarcasm alert>: He’s black, somewhat large in stature, black, a Christian, black, a Conservative…black…a teenager…black…so we need to call the police and have him thrown out…Did I mention that Jarrett Roby is black? These “tolerant” people who allegedly threw this teenager out with police escorts are the type of people who rail against alleged conservative intolerance but refused to even hear Jarrett out completely.

Kira Davis was scheduled to interview Jarrett Roby on her internet radio show “The Dark Side” on 7-24-12 however, he changed his mind & declined the appearance. She did however, replay a portion of a recorded telephone conversation and read/discussed the various eyewitness statements, here is the recording. Kira received the following emailed response from Stacy Kerr from the Georgetown Communications office earlier today regarding the Roby situation:

“All new students at Georgetown University participate in programming and orientations to prepare them to be successful in a university environment that is inclusive and respectful of diverse groups of people. During orientation all news students participate in Pluralism in Action, a session exploring issues related to diversity and tolerance.Some specific programs, like the Georgetown Community Scholars Summer Program, give us the benefit of time over the summer to address issues in more depth. In addition to diversity, some examples of this in-depth programming include sessions on financial literacy and healthy relationships.In the instance that students make administrators aware of religious or personal objections to any training or programs, the university works to provide alternative approaches to fulfill these requirements in concert with students’ beliefs”.

I also received this anonymous response from another eyewitness who does not agree with the eyewitness accounts above:

“This is really sad how blown out of proportion this is getting. The sources are faulty and biased. I’m a Community Scholar and I am witness to the situation that night. Jarrett was in fact, loud and aggressive. These articles on the situation overly-victimize Jarrett and throw dirt on people who do not deserve it. They explained to us that he was dismissed not because of that incident, but because of a series of other incidents that he has been involved in. He was on probation in regards to the higher authorities of the program. He was not removed because of his beliefs nor was he singled out because of his beliefs. His approach was extremely aggressive and inappropriate and it left many people hurt, in fear, and upset. Of course, his best friends will “attest” to what they claim happened and it is unfortunate how it is being portrayed.________, the other “conservative” involved, hid behind the shadows of Jarrett as Jarrett went off on a rage that night. _______ said things like “I’m going to get my lawyer!” _______ is the recorder of the video shot during the LGBTQ workshop (WORKSHOP NOT TRAINING).

These articles are out of line and exemplifies how unreliable the media is. It is unfortunate how quickly Jarrett bit the hand that fed him. The very least he could do is own up to his mistakes, learn from them humbly, and go on with life. Exaggerating, falsifying information, and completely sugarcoating his way to sympathy is pathetic and childish. 100% of us could not and WILL not vouch for him because his antics were very offensive, uncalled for, and frightening (not because of what he believes, but how far he would go verbally to make them clear).This has nothing to do with race. There are two white kids out of 52 of us. We are all minorities, including the higher authorities of this program with whom made the decision that Jarrett had to leave.Campus police being called is normal protocol for someone who is being dismissed. They are ensuring the safety of everyone on campus by escorting him out of the front gates. By being dismissed, he no longer had a reason to remain on campus, therefore STOP VICTIMIZING HIM AND SUGARCOATING THE SITUATION. So sad how someone can bash their own school, especially in order to avoid learning from one’s mistakes. Humble YOURSELVES!”

Well, there you have it, and each person can decide for themselves which version of events they find the most plausible. Of course, even with my own provocative opinions, I was not there. I know that some liberals and members of the LBGTQ community may call me “homophobic” (a misnomer I fear nor hate anyone) and others might say that I am “playing the race card”. The latter group may be correct for once. My response is a simple one: You’re damn right I’m not only playing the race card but I’m calling out the liberal agenda with it as well.I hope you all are paying close attention because this story, Jarrett’s story, is one such case where the race card has been put to proper use for once.